NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and other agency leaders outlined the accelerated Artemis schedule in an update on Oct. 23, describing plans for a 2027 test flight and a crewed Moon landing mission in 2028. The agency said it is working with industry partners to test key capabilities and reduce risks as it prepares for future lunar missions.
Artemis III is planned as a 14-day mission in Earth orbit, with four astronauts aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft, launched by the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The mission will test rendezvous, docking and operations between Orion and lunar lander test vehicles developed by Blue Origin and SpaceX.
In the planned sequence, Blue Origin will first launch a Blue Moon lander test article into orbit. Orion and its crew will then launch and dock with the Blue Moon vehicle. After that, Orion will undock and connect with SpaceX’s Version 3 Starship lander test article.
NASA said Artemis III hardware remains on track and that processing timelines have been cut by about half. The agency also redesigned, built and tested a fuel-line component in-house over five months, at roughly one-tenth the cost of an earlier estimate from an outside vendor.
For Artemis IV, NASA plans to send astronauts around the Moon and land them on its surface in 2028. The crew will launch aboard Orion and SLS from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SpaceX and Blue Origin are developing landers, and both companies are targeting readiness to support a crewed landing that year.
SpaceX’s proposed approach involves refueling Starship in Earth orbit before it meets Orion and heads toward the Moon. Blue Origin plans to use transfer stages to send its Blue Moon Mark 2 lander toward the Moon, where it would meet Orion in a closer lunar orbit before descending to the surface.
NASA is also pursuing two options for the SLS upper stage for Artemis IV: the current interim cryogenic propulsion stage or a larger version of United Launch Alliance’s Centaur V, which can carry more propellant. The agency said keeping both options in development provides flexibility and avoids relying on a single choice.
Separately, NASA and spacesuit provider Axiom Space plan to develop a second, lighter suit, called the Sortie suit, for the first lunar surface excursions. It will not replace Axiom’s primary suit, which is intended for longer and more demanding missions. NASA said the Sortie suit is roughly half the weight of the larger design and is intended to support its earliest surface missions.
Sources: NASA Breaking News.